A common practice put in place when launching new products or managing the life cycle of existing ones is the use of the so-called “Scarcity Feeling”. That’s basically, taking the product out of the shelfs after a relatively short period of time, to push consumers to acquire the ones available before they disappear.

Recently, we’ve heard once again of an action from Apple that could be linked to this practice. As it’s been the case when launching other products, it seems that the Apple watch launch will be a bit delayed. Apparent reasons? A manufacturer’s problem (see https://twitter.com/qz/status/593683078503010304).

However, being this true or not, there’s an incredible positive side-effect on Apple’s story: people anxiety, willingness to cue and buy the watch go dramatically higher! A delay that got a clear winner: Apple.

Now, when companies use this kind of techniques (or better say, tricks), they can not be legally punished. There’s not broken legal rule. But, are these practices ethical? Maybe the question is in today’s business world completely irrelevant. Is business nowadays ethical, anyways?